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Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans

New Orleans is absolutely magical around Christmas time. From carols in Jackson Square to garland hung among Mardi Gras beads from the French Quarter balconies, spending the holidays here with my family was a pleasant and festive departure from frigid Chicago.

While my parents and I are longtime fans of New Orleans, this was my newly minted 21 year old brother’s first trip to the Big Easy, so we made sure that our itinerary was a mix of tourist mainstays and local recommendations. We ventured outside of the French Quarter for beers at the Spotted Cat on Frenchman Street, out of this world shrimp and grits at Atchafalaya, and the unique shrimp and alligator cheesecake at Jacques Imo’s Cafe, but what’s a trip to NOLA without beignets and café au lait from Cafe Du Monde?

Located just outside of Jackson Square, there’s always the requisite line around the block outside of Cafe Du Monde in the morning. Lively street jazz musicians and the view of the Square make the wait a bit more enjoyable. Insiders tip: to avoid the line and grab brunch to go, head around to the back of the eatery to order from the to-go counter.

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The menu is short; the only food option is beignets sold in parcels of three with a variety of beverage choices to wash down the powdered sugar. Seasoned waiters bustle around the restaurant, expertly yielding enormous trays of plates. Cafe Du Monde is hardly a relaxing environment and you may feel pressured by the brisk service to dine and dash (after settling the tab of course), but you can’t beat the people watching.

Coffee is a necessity after a night out on Bourbon Street, so my family promptly ordered three black coffees and one café au lait to go. The coffee at Café Du Monde is created with chicory, which is the root of the endive plant, giving it a chocolatey taste that takes away from the bitterness of dark roasted coffee. I opted for the traditional café au lait with half and half and hot milk, and added a little extra powdered sugar from my beignets for heightened sweetness. The coffee was rich and satisfying. The unique blend is sold all over town so I picked up a tin to upgrade my morning cup of joe from the office Keurig.

Now on to the star of the show, the beloved beignets! I was fascinated by the production process and watched dozens of pieces of fluffy dough tossed right into the fryer by the chefs and immediately doused in powdered sugar. The beignets were served piping hot and soft. Although my dad remarked that he’d prefer the exterior a bit crispier, I enjoyed the light interior layers of the sweet treat. Don’t make my mistake and come to Café Du Monde wearing black… a shower of powdered sugar is unavoidable.

We took our coffees and bags of beignets to eat on a nearby park bench so we wouldn’t be tardy to our upcoming Treme tour. The combination of caffeine and sugar was the perfect fuel for a day of touring this historic city and held us over until our afternoon po boys.

The Bitches say: A. Café Du Monde is a tried and true New Orleans classic that can’t be topped, despite the dozens of copycat joints around town. Don’t be discouraged by the long line; a trip to NOLA is not complete without at least one order of beignets.